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Cambridge PuG Crawl, Friday 5th April 2024 with Mobyduck on the Pub Forum

Krakatoa, Aberdeen

2 Trinity Quay
Aberdeen
AB11 5AA

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Danny O'Revey left this review about Krakatoa

A little different, brightly lit and ecclectic trendy interior, a little too hip and theres a feel you have to be the same to fit in, its not over friendly.

On 2nd May 2023 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about Krakatoa

This is a rather madcap, eccentric bar and live music venue opposite the harbour. You enter into a relatively narrow but surprisingly long room with exposed floorboards and a servery along the right-hand wall. The bar has a pretty hefty counter with big fonts along it which have digital displays denoting ‘World Beer’, ‘Cider’, ‘Belgian’ or ‘Cask Ale’, which was pretty helpful and I imagine a bit of a lifesaver when it’s packed at the bar and you’re trying to figure out what beers are on. The bar back is illuminated with blue lights and has been stuffed with all sorts of random stuff including loads of music memorabilia, old typewriters, beer bottles and various models. The stand-out feature had to be a lovely mirror for ‘Moorings Bar’, which I figured may well have been a previous name for this place. Two brash neon signs fill the front windows, where some button backed banquettes can be found beneath. As you might expect, various nautical themed items are on show to the front along with lots of gig posters. Down the left-hand wall, opposite the bar, banquettes and low stools run under more posters, bits of breweriana and some odd totem-pole style pillars. There is also a rare sighting of a pinball table and some more neon signs including one that reads ‘Live Nude Bands!’. The rear part of the room is relatively empty, with a stage on the back wall and an open dancefloor area in front. The wall to the left of the stage is mirrored and there are yet more neon signs on display back here. A trip to the toilets revealed some pretty amusing toilet door signage, whilst the urinals had instructions on vomiting etiquette! Quite loud music played for the duration of my visit, as I’d expected, with pauses in between some tracks, which suggested they were playing from a juke box, although I didn’t actually spot one.
Live music venues aren’t generally associated with good beer, so it’s always nice to find one with a decent ale range. Here, there was a choice between Duke IPA, Fyne Jarl, Cromarty Brewed Awakening and Atlantic Drift plus a couple of others from Scottish micros that I couldn’t make out. An extensive cider range was complimented by a wide selection of Belgian and World beers, all on keg, plus a decent bottled range too. My pint of the Duke IPA was pretty good and the friendly barman gave me a CAMRA discount on trust when I realised I’d left my CAMRA card in the hotel.
This is a pretty unconventional pub and not really what I was expecting to find from a North Sea port pub. I can imagine there being a great atmosphere in here when there is a band on and I thought it was a quirky spot to stop off for a couple of pints.

On 13th July 2018 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about Krakatoa

Something a bit different! This portside bar reminded me immediately of the Purple Turtle in Reading but happily with far more beer which is in better shape and with fewer, ahem, ‘agitated’ punters. Another long and narrow Aberdeen bar, the place is handily lit with neon to create an almost psychedelic feel. Music-driven, gig posters adorn the walls and there is a stage at the rear. There's a pinball machine too. Brilliantly unique are the three banks of taps at the bar, each with their own LCD labelling; World Beer, Cask Ale, Cider and Belgian. A jumble of clips sat atop the cask one - I counted seven which I assumed to all be on. My Highland Brewery Munro was in ok shape if perhaps a little aspiratored round the edges with a faint cardboard lilt – too many beers on? Something different, maybe not to everyone’s taste but I think a worthy stop on a crawl.

On 20th March 2018 - rating: 7
[User has posted 5043 recommendations about 5026 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Walter Dunlop left this review about The Moorings

Now called Krakatoa

On 15th April 2016 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 59 recommendations about 57 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Roger Button left this review about The Moorings

One of Aberdeen's more bizarre pubs but one that should be high on any beer tourists list of pubs to visit whilst in town. Founded in 1965, this is primarily a rock/alternative music pub so expect plenty of Guns N Roses et al although the volume wasn’t intrusive on conversation at the time of my visit. Far from being packed with denim clad youths, I found an eclectic mix of customers of all ages although weekend live music nights may attract the normal stereotypical rock fan. The interior is far bigger than you expect with a classic Scottish long bar down one side. The dark and dingy bar area is lit by several neon signs and red bulbed lanterns with a stage at one end. A large mural of Davey Jones locker dominates the stage end and of the quirky signs, one advertises Live Nude Bands. Some of the signage in the toilets should be taken with a large dose of sodium chloride. I hope. I would also like to think that the chalk body line on the floor was not symbolic of the previous night’s session.

On the beer front, the 6 hand pumps had a good mix of scottish ales; Isle Of Skye Red Cuillin, Inveralmond Independence, Inveralmond Lia Fail and their own Moorings Ale also brewed by Inveralmond. Thatchers Heritage Cider was also on hand pump and a further pump was unused. In addition they sell over 50 bottled world beers and 20 Belgian beers (there is a menu listing all the beers available). Prices are very cheap with the ales at £2.10 comparison to an average for the area of around £3 a pint. Aside from the live music there is also a darts area at the front and a big screen at the rear plus they hold a licence to operate as a cinema. Had I had more time I could easily have made a night of this place although it certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste. They advertise themselves as the place you were warned about. Be a devil and give it a go!

On 5th July 2010 - rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]